How we look after your information

Who we are

Compassion Soup Kitchen — Te Pūaroha — is a registered charity (CC 10246) that has served the Wellington community since 1901. The volunteer app is how our whānau of volunteers applies, signs up for shifts, completes training, and stays connected with the kitchen. This statement covers the information handled by that app.

What we collect

We collect information at a few points along your volunteering journey:

• Your account. Your name and email address, and a password if you create one (we store it securely hashed — we can never read it). If you sign in with Google, we receive your name and email address from Google, and nothing more.
• Your application. The details you give us when you apply to volunteer: your date of birth, address, phone number, emergency contact, your availability, and anything you choose to tell us about yourself.
• Police vetting status. Because our volunteers work alongside people who may be vulnerable, volunteering involves Ministry of Justice vetting. We record only the status of your vetting — for example submitted or cleared — not the underlying records.
• Your mahi. The shifts you sign up for and attend, the hours you give, and the training you complete.
• Documents and agreements. Agreements you sign in the app (including your drawn signature) and any documents uploaded as part of your volunteer record.
• Keeping you signed in. A session cookie so you stay signed in, and your light/dark theme preference. We don't use advertising or tracking cookies.

Why we collect it

Everything we collect has a practical purpose:

• To run the volunteer programme — reviewing applications, rostering shifts, and recording training.
• To keep everyone safe — police vetting, and knowing who to call if something happens while you're on shift.
• To recognise your contribution — tracking the hours and aroha you give.
• To stay in touch — announcements, shift reminders, and updates from the kitchen.
• To meet our legal obligations as a charity working with vulnerable people.

We won't use your information for anything unrelated to volunteering without asking you first.

Who can see it

Access is deliberately narrow. Only the kitchen's coordinators and administrators can see volunteer records, and they see them because managing the programme is their job. Other volunteers cannot see your personal details.

We don't sell your information or share it with third parties for their own purposes. The only outside parties involved are the Ministry of Justice (for vetting, with your consent as part of your application) and the essential services that make the app run, such as email delivery. We would only disclose your information beyond that where the law requires it.

Where it lives

Your information is stored on the organisation's own self-hosted infrastructure — not scattered across third-party marketing or analytics platforms. Access is restricted to authorised staff accounts, passwords are stored hashed, and uploaded documents are held in private storage that isn't publicly accessible.

How long we keep it

We keep your information while you're volunteering with us, and for a reasonable period afterwards so we can meet our legal obligations and welcome you back easily if you return. When your information is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise it. If you'd like your record removed sooner, just ask.

Your rights

Under the Privacy Act 2020 you have the right to ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, and to ask us to correct anything that's wrong. You can see and update most of your details yourself on your profile in the app — and for anything else, just ask and we'll help.

If you're ever unhappy with how we've handled your information and we can't put it right, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz.

Questions?

Kōrero mai — talk to us. If you have any questions about your information, or want to see or correct what we hold, contact the coordinator team at the kitchen or email [email protected]. We'll get back to you as quickly as we can.

Changes to this statement

If how we handle your information changes, we'll update this page and let volunteers know through the app. The date at the top always shows when it was last revised.